Three Qualify to Bid For Panamanian Mobile Concessions
The Panamanian government said three companies qualified to bid for two wireless telephony concessions that it expects to grant in April.
The public services regulator Asep said in a press release Tuesday that America Movil unit Claro Panama, Digicel Panama, and Millicom International Celular unit Telemovil El Salvador were cleared to continue in the bidding process.
Wirefree Services Panama didn't meet the legal, technical and economic conditions and failed to qualify, the regulator said.
Panama is offering two mobile concessions, with bids due April 3 and concessions expected to be awarded April 14.
Asep said it expects the addition of two operators will increase competition in the Panamanian wireless market, where seven out of 10 people, or about 2.4 million, have cell phones. The existing operators are Cable & Wireless Panama and the local unit of Spain's Telefonica.
Panama is one of the Central American countries where America Movil, Latin America's biggest mobile service provider, doesn't have a presence. The company has operations in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
-By Anthony Harrup, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5080 3450, anthony.harrup@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Posted to the site on 16th January 2008